


Best Laid Plans

by Lottery57



Category: Mother 1 | EarthBound Zero | EarthBound Beginnings
Genre: F/M, First Dates, Giygas is mentioned but not actually in it, Minor Swearing, Ninten's father actually makes an appearance, Post-Canon, Teen Romance, did anyone know Ninten's mother is called Carol, i mean does damn count, idk so ill just put it anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:48:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25975438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lottery57/pseuds/Lottery57
Summary: Ninten's plans never quite go according to what he imagined... but he still manages. Postgame Ninten x Ana, spoilers for Mother 1.Written for a person I love very much.
Relationships: Ana/Ninten (Mother 1)
Kudos: 5





	Best Laid Plans

**Author's Note:**

> By my headcanon, Ninten, Ana and Lloyd are 13 while Teddy is 21 during the game and during this story, which happens three months after the game. The town names are consistent with the Mother 1 + 2 translation, (it's what I played first) so Mother's Day = Podunk, Valentine = Ellay and Thanksgiving = Merrysville.
> 
> However, Giygas is called Giygue — I know the Mother 1 + 2 translation calls him Giygas (and Giygas sounds way more threatening) but I like the idea that Giygue is beta Mewtwo (sane, wants to make the people of Earth suffer, still loves Maria...) while Giygas is after he went completely insane, become the Universal Cosmic Destroyer and wanted to end all of existence.
> 
> This fic is dedicated to my brother, who is a big Mother 1 fan, and loves Nintana as much as I love Naula. I... sympathise with him for loving a fandom whose fanfiction community is smaller than Earthbound and Mother 3 (and those two aren't exactly very big as it is), so I'll throw my hat into the ring in his stead.
> 
> We may have our differences regarding so many things, like music, movies and of course, games (we've had many a heated discussion about which Mother game is the best, it's Mother 3, damn it!), but through it all... none of that really matters, does it?
> 
> So, brother, why did I write this then? The answer's both a brilliant song and something I don't think I say to you enough. I wrote this...
> 
> Because I Love You.

Before all of this started... before Giygue, Ninten never really worried about anything. He had school, which was a bit tedious, and his twin sisters could drive him up the wall, by virtue of being, A. Identical and B. _Really_ annoying.

You can imagine how many times Ninten ran into a situation in which he'd ask one of his sisters for something, they'd say he got their name wrong, he'd correct himself, only for them to reveal he was actually right the first time.

Again, _really_ annoying.

But hey, things were still good, even if Ninten wished he could see his dad a bit more, but he had nothing to worry about.

Then his lamp attacked him, and his sister's teddy, and he found these melodies, and a imaginary world, and aliens, and oh my god, what the HELL is happening?!

It was an experience... to say the least.

And Ninten certainly had cause to worry during his adventure. You see... getting hurt... is not very fun. It's a stunning revelation, to be sure, but it's a revelation that Ninten learned very quickly when he was slashed by a tiger. 

It's a good thing he has psychic powers.

Ninten was constantly worried during his journey, especially once others started joining him. If anything happened to them, he'd have felt responsible, and although he was by no means a paragon of power, he certainly had cause for concern with his teammates.

Lloyd struggled a lot, he was doing his best, but he always had some confidence issues, which could hinder him in the heat of battle. Still, he'd certainly gotten a lot more confident from the journey — his stunt with the tank certainly proved that.

Teddy, on the other hand, was almost the complete opposite. The guy was _too_ confident, and sure, Ninten had never seen anyone use a katana that well (though he also hadn't seen anyone else use a katana at all), but he could be a little reckless in battle. Didn't turn out too well for him when they came across that robot, necessitating Lloyd's aforementioned tank stunt.

Between two diametrically opposing confidence levels, Ninten found himself getting very exhausted with using Lifeup.

You'd assume therefore, that Ninten would worry the least about Ana, who had the right level of confidence and could use Lifeup as well — and much better than he could.

If anything, Ninten worried about her the most.

Ana was... frail. Ninten remembers one particular instant where they were going up Mt Itoi, and one of those bears came right out of nowhere and took one good swipe at Ana, instantly sending her down. 

So Ninten had lots to worry about. 

And, you'd think that after all of the stuff he'd faced, including a psychic alien which he was powerless before, Ninten would never be worried or scared about anything else in his entire life.

You'd also be wrong. _Very_ wrong.

For today, three months after Giygue left and everyone missing had been found, Ninten was faced with what might be, his most difficult task yet.  
  


**Planning a date for Ana.**

Ninten had spent what felt like days, just pacing around his room, thinking of things he could do for his first date with her, while watching his lamp in make sure it didn't spring to life again. He's not sure if a fear of lamps exists, but he feels he's justified in this fear.

See, the issue was, Ninten, doesn't actually know Ana all that well. 

Yeah, he was a great friend, wasn't he? 

In his defence, they'd been constantly fighting stuff (as well as each other during some... tense moments) during the adventure, and even after, the two hadn't gotten much time to catch up. They called each other every so often and wrote letters, but both were preoccupied — Ana with her church duties and Ninten with catching up on the masses of work he'd missed. 

Additionally, Ninten's dad has recently come home and Ana had just reunited with her mother, so both of them wanted to spend time with them, which is why it had taken Ninten so long to try and ask her out a date.

And so, here Ninten was. Trying desperately to think of things Ana would enjoy.

He knew she was a church priestess... but to be honest, Ninten wasn't really all that religious of a person, so he doesn't have any ideas regarding that.

But he could still give Ana a good time even if it wasn't something she was necessarily into. And while Ninten once had the _perfect_ idea of where to take her for their first date, that plan had a rather large wrench thrown into it.

Ninten knew Ana was respected a lot in Snowman. So perhaps something that reflected that status... yeah, that could work. And after writing some things down, and a bit of contemplation, Ninten realised something very, _very_ important.  
  


**He still had absolutely no idea what to do for An** **a.**  
  


So, he decided to ask his dad for some advice — it was another good chance to actually talk to him in person and he'd surely know something about dating, since, you know, he was with Mom.

"Dad... what did you do for your first date with Mom?"

"Our first date? Well, I... wait... who's the lucky girl then?"

"There's... no one. I'm just curious."

"Ninten. You don't become the CEO of a company if you don't learn how to see through people's lies."

"Really? You can do that?"

"Yep. Even though I'm not psychic, like you are. But it's very easy to do for you."

"Easy?"

"Yeah, you're just a terrible liar, Ninten. And very bad at hiding your emotions in general."

Ninten pounded the table at this. "I am not!"

"You're angry."

At that, Ninten rolled his eyes.

"And now you're annoyed!"

"Pleaaaase, can we get back to the topic?"

"Haha! Oh, I'm sorry, Ninten, I just don't get to you see you very often. Make most of the time you have and all... sooo, who's the lucky girl?"

"Daaaaad..."

"Come on."

Ninten opens his mouth to speak, but his dad cuts him off. "Ah! And don't go saying, 'how do you know it's a girl?', because, once again Ninten, you are a terrible liar."

"Fine! It's Ana!"

"Ana... hm... she's that girl from Snowman... the psychic girl you travelled with."

"Yeah... we've been keeping in contact with letters and phone calls, but..."

"You want to take her on a date, because you want to see her again? And... you can't think of any good ideas for a date."

At the sight of Ninten's jaw dropping, his dad laughed.

"Don't need psychic powers to be a mind reader though, do I?"

"I've... I've been thinking for days... but I can't think of anything we'd both like... we're very different."

It wasn't an exaggeration either — while Ninten was very outspoken, Ana was much more cautious.

"But... I still care for her... and, I want to do something for her. Anything!"

"Well, I'm not sure I can help you then. See, my first date with your mother consisted of me giving her a diamond bracelet followed by her immediately proposing to me!"

Ninten gave his dad a look of incredulity. 

"Really, Dad? You seriously just... won her over with money?!"

"Haha, no, no! I gave her a diamond bracelet on our _fifth_ date. But let's be serious for a moment, I know exactly how you feel."

"Really?"

"Mhm. Your mother and I... we don't share all that much in common. But I still wanted to be with her... much like you do with Ana, I imagine. And I was afraid of screwing something up, cause I didn't wanna blow it."

"Did you?"

"... let's not go into that. But, I can't help you when it comes to ideas. What I did for your mother for our first date won't work for you."

"Why not?"

"Because the two of you are only thirteen."

"Wait. what does that me — DAD! Really?! REALLY?! On your first date?!"

His dad had a fit at this and almost collapsed on the table.

"Add... add 'very gullible' to that list... no, Ninten, not on our first date..."

"Thank God..."

"It was on our fifth date after I gave her that diamond bracelet!"

"DAD!"

"Oh, Ninten... your mother did give you 'the talk', didn't she?"

Ninten put his face down in the table before letting out a muffled "Don't remind me..."

"Haha! Anyway, my point is, you need to do whatever you think would make things special. You did a lot of travelling, right? Surely, there's somewhere in particular that you have some special memories of?"

"There are... I'm just... scared."

"Hm... I don't know the specifics obviously... but I think I might have a good idea why..."

"Really?! What is it?!"

"I think this is something you need to realise yourself."

The spark in Ninten's eyes disappeared as fast as they appeared, like a child who had been given a treat, before it was snatched away.

"Lemme tell you something else. 13, is a bit young to start dating. I'm not gonna stop you, because you're far more capable than most adults. But that doesn't mean your mind is. You may not know exactly what you're feeling, so be very careful... because heartbreak only leads to pain on both sides. Trust me... I know that far too well... and, good luck."

"Alright..."

With that, Ninten went back to his room. He wasn't quite sure what his dad meant... but he'd figure it out.

So... a place he went to that he had special memories of... well, again, Ninten had actually already thought of that, but again, _that_ place wasn't an option. What else then?

It took some time, but gradually Ninten started to write some ideas down... and after about an hour, he knew _exactly_ what he wanted to do.   
With that, he made a call to the Live House...  
  


Meanwhile, in Valentine...

"Yep... Saturday evening, I can do. How many people have we got coming? 20?! That's the biggest turnout we've ever had! Wait. Say that again. Two teens? What? What do you mean, no swearing?! Oh, come on! This isn't fair! Alright, alright, I'll keep it PG then, ya happy now?! Okay. Bye."

A young man put down the receiver to the phone.

"Damn teens... forcing me to keep it PG, why I oughtta... wait... two teens... I wonder..."

The man picked up the phone again and dialled a number.

"Yo, Lloyd. You free on Saturday night? Alright, listen then..."

Back at Mother's Day, Ninten was looking over his plans for the date. He'd take Ana to the Live House in Valentine — clever, right? And then, when they'd finished, when it was dark and the stars were out, he'd take her to Mt Itoi, where she confessed her love to him, and he'd say he loved her too, and then he'd kiss her under the stars! It was perfect!

He'd made reservations at the Live House so all he had to do was call her.

Ninten tentatively picked up his phone and called her. It rung twice before anyone picked up.

"Hello, who is this?"

It was Ana.

"It's Ninten!"

"Ninten! It's wonderful to hear from you again! How have you been?"

"Good, good... I've had lots of schoolwork to catch up on though."

"Ooh... sounds horrible. Maybe you should get Lloyd to help you."

"Nah, I'll manage, and besides, Lloyd's got his own work to catch up. He's enjoying school a lot more since, you know... three months ago. How about you?"

"Good, good, everything's fine, although it's been strange getting back to life as normal after everything. Still, I'm glad to have my mother back and to help out at the church again. We've been thinking about building a hospital here... we're quite far away from any health care."

"Hope that goes well then..."

There was an awkward silence between the two before Ana interrupted it.

"So, Ninten, what else did you call me for?"

"What, I couldn't just call you because I wanted to chat?"

"Ninten... you're a terrible liar."

"Why does everyone keep saying that this week?! First, my dad, and now you too?! Fine, ya got me. I... I wanted... to see you again, Ana. Are you free this Saturday evening... say, 4 o clock?"

"I... I think I am, yes."

"Then... how about we go somewhere... together?"

"Ninten... are you asking me out... on a-"

"Yes! If... if you don't mind."

"I... I'll see you on Saturday then. Bye."

"Bye."

Ninten put down the receiver... and let out a long sigh.

"YES! I DID IT!"

Upstairs, his parents and his twin sisters all smiled to themselves.  
  


In Thanksgiving though, another 13 year old boy was on the phone — and he wasn't nearly as happy as Ninten.

"No."

"C'mon, Lloyd!"

"No!"

"Oh, come on!"

"I'm not doing it, Teddy."

"Why not?"

"Okay, let me go through some basic maths for you. There are millions of teens, any of whom could have made a reservation. The chances that those two people happen to be Ninten and Ana are so cosmically small, that... you know what, I, I can't be bothered to work it out."

Lloyd paused before continuing.

"So, if by some _bizarre_ coincidence, these two people aren't Ninten and Ana, then I will have wasted a entire trip all the way to Valentine!And even if they are... so what? Shouldn't we just leave them be? You know, let them have their date?"

"Lloyd. It's Ninten. Do you really think he's gonna get though his first date without screwing something up?"

"... regardless of how good a point that may be, we should still leave them alone."

"And let Ninten screw something up? Hell no! He needs the help of the Romance Samurai and his sidekick, Gadget Guy!"

"Teddy, for the last time, having a katana does not make you a samurai! And why don't you just call Ninten yourself?!"

"Because if _I_ call him, then he'll know I'm up to something, c'mon Lloyd, I thought you were supposed to be smart! Besides, I need eyes and ears there as well."

"I'm still not gonna participate in this _inane_ plot of yours, and there's nothing you can say or do that will change my mi—"

"I'll tell Ana you stole her frying pan."

"... what?"

"I, Teddy, will tell Ana, that you, Lloyd, stole her frying pan, and caused it to disintegrate in that experiment of yours, when you tried to turn metal into gold."

"You wouldn't dare."

"You seem to be forgetting that I was once a gang boss — blackmailing people is second nature to me. But hey, if you don't believe me... then have fun being blasted by Ana! Byyyyyye!"

"Teddy! TEDDY! GET BACK HERE!"

No one answered.

"DAMN IT! He hung up on me!"

Lloyd started putting the receiver down, but just before he did —

"PSYCHE!"

"WHAT THE... don't do that!"

Lloyd heard a blast of laughter over the phone.

"I wish I could see the look on your face right now! So, are you in or out?"

There was an audible sigh from Lloyd.

"Fine... I'm in."

"Good! First things then, call Ninten and ask him about Saturday."

"Fine. And if he isn't going on a date on Saturday, I don't have to participate in this, do I?"

"No. Call me when you finish."

Teddy hung up on Lloyd, leaving him to call Ninten.

"How did I get myself into all this?" 

He rang Ninten, and someone picked up.

"Hello, who is this?"

It was Ninten's dad.

"Oh... hi, it's Lloyd. I was wondering if I... uh... if I could speak to Ninten."

"Sure."

A minute later, someone else came to the phone.

"Hi, Lloyd, how's everything?"

"Ninten, I... I've been working on making... a... an actual rocket. I've... um... almost finished making it, and I was.... uh... wondering if you wanted to come over on Saturday to...um... see me launch it. Teddy's coming as well."

"Saturday? Oh... sorry Lloyd, it sounds really cool, but I can't do Saturday."

"How come?"

"I... I'm going out on Saturday."

"Oh. Okay. Well, I'll see if Ana's free then, it'll be a great chance to bamboozle her with my science!"

"Ana... isn't free on Saturday."

"How do you know?"

"Because... well... man... I really am a terrible liar. Okay, look, fine, I'm taking Ana out on a date this Saturday."

"... wow, that's a big step! Well, hey, good luck to you! Where are you going?"

"We're going to the Show House. But listen, don't tell anyone."

"Alright. Oh, dinner, gotta go, bye!"

Lloyd hung up. And immediately groaned.

"I can't believe Teddy was right... what has this world become..." He rung Teddy.

"Teddy he-"

"Teddy."

"Yes?"

"How is it that your random dumb guessing is able to supersede basic maths and probability?!"

"Two words: Romance. Samurai."

Two days passed, and at 3:30 on Saturday, each of the four were making their preparations.

Over at Valentine, Lloyd was preparing a disguise for himself and Teddy was going over some of his... material for tonight.

"This is gonna be great!"

"Speak for yourself."   
  


Meanwhile, over at Snowman, Ana was praying for her date to go well. She was looking forward to seeing Ninten again.  
  


And Ninten himself was feverishly making his last minute checks with his mother for the date.  
  


"So Ninten, you'll be back at about seven, yes?"

"Yeah."

"And you've checked your place at the Show House and got your tickets?"

"I checked an hour ago and here are the tickets."

"And you have your inhaler?"

"Mom, do you think I'd really leave home without it?"

"Asthma's no joke, young man! If you don't have it and you get an asthma attack, you might need CPR! Although... I suppose you wouldn't mind forgetting your inhaler to get some 'mouth to mouth' resuscitation from Ana, would you?"

"MOM! I wouldn't do that!"

"I know, I know, I'm just teasing. Stay safe."

Soon after, Ninten emerged in Snowman — hooray for PSI Teleport, and went to Ana's house. He knocked on her door. It opened and Ana's mother was there.

"Ninten! Ana's been waiting for you."

"Is she ready then?"

"She's been ready for two hours. She insists on praying though. Why don't you come inside, it's freezing out here!"

"Thank you."

With the invitation, Ninten went inside and sat down.

"I'll go and get her... I'm sure I don't need to say this, but... please look after her."

"I will. I promise."

She went to get her daughter, and soon Ninten could hear someone descending down the stairs. He saw someone rounding the corner and... there she was.

Ana.

"Hi, Ninten... it's good to see you again."

Ninten followed his first thought — to run and hug her. She was a little surprised but she gladly returned it.

"It's really good to see you as well. I... I missed you."

"Me too. So... shall we?"

The two of them left the house and started walking through the town. It was Ana, who spoke first.

"So, how've you been?"

"Alright. My dad got some time off to actually visit us, and it's been nice seeing him."

"You don't see him very often, do you?"

"Nah. He's usually busy with his work being a CEO and all. Honestly, despite all the money, I really wish I could see him some more."

"I understand... I remember when my mother was taken."

"Yeah... how's she doing?"

"She's a little shaken up... I can't blame her after being kidnapped by that alien, but she's doing fine."

"Good... that's good to hear."

However, Ninten's voice was almost... toneless. There wasn't any emotion in his words. Ana stopped walking and turned to face him.

"Ninten... there's something wrong, isn't there? And don't say nothing, because..."

"I'm a terrible liar, I know, I know... I'm... I'm just nervous... I don't wanna screw this up."

She took his hand and gently squeezed it.

"You're not going to. Trust me. Let's keep going."

The two continued walking until they got to the outskirts, where there was enough space to teleport.

"So... before we go, if you don't mind me asking... what's with the dust on you?"

"Dust? Gah! I didn't get it all off!"

Ninten started brushing himself all over until there was no more left. At Ana's questioning look, he explained.

"I... ran into a few trees while I was trying to teleport here, you see, things like that was what I was scared of happening!

Ana giggled at that.

"Ninten. Look at me. You're gonna do fine."

"How... how do you know?"

"Because... I believe in you. And I think you're doing just fine right now."

"Thanks... yeah, thank you. Really."

"So, where are we off to?"

"Just wait and see."

Ninten took Ana's hand and the two teleported away. They appeared in Valentine and dusted themselves off.

"See, you didn't hit anything that time!"

Both of them laughed at that.

"So, know where we are?"

"This is... Valentine, isn't it? Fitting choice for a first date — you're doing fine!"

"Thanks. Let's go to the Show House then."

The two walked through the streets of Valentine, greeting some of the old Bla Bla Gang members, who, like Teddy, had reformed and now had found jobs. Eventually, they reached the Show House, where Ninten presented the tickets he had gotten in advance.

The Show House itself hadn't changed at all — though it was certainly a much safer place to be in now that the Bla Bla Gang had disbanded. The two took a seat at a table — Ninten even remembered to pull out Ana's chair for her, as was polite.

Nearby their table however, was a boy with a wig and some glasses, closely watching them.

"So, what would you like to have Ana?"

"I'm not sure... I've never really gone out anywhere like this before. Why don't you pick?"

"Okay..."

Ninten quickly scanned the menu — and he found the perfect thing. He ordered two of them with some water.

"So, Ana, have you talked to anyone else in our... group — I dunno what you'd call it!

"Yes, an asthmatic from the middle of nowhere, a cowardly scientist from a big town, a priestess from the cold east and a former gang boss near a swamp. It's certainly quite the interesting collection of people, isn't it?"

"Hm. And yet, the four of us, together... we managed to drive away an alien and save everyone."

"Strange, isn't it? I've kept in contact with Lloyd — he's always working on his gadgets."

"Yeah, he said he'd built a rocket to launch!"

"Really? Between you and me... I never really understand anything he goes on about. But it's great to see him become so much more confident!"

The figure nearby smiled at this.

"I don't really keep in contact with Teddy though... he still kinda scares me... after being in a gang..."

"I get what you mean, but Teddy's a good guy at heart, I feel. He's had it rough... but I sympathise with the guy, and he's making his changes.

"That's... a really nice way at looking at things, Ninten."

"Well, hey, it's what I do best!"

Ana laughed at the truth of this statement. 

"It really is... no matter what came your way, you always were a Pollyanna at heart, weren't you? I think... I think that's why I fell in love with you."

Ninten's heart fluttered at that... and with it, he felt as if... as if he knew what to do. He could do this. And so the two kept talking until the food arrived. When it did, Ana immediately gave Ninten a smirk.

"Really?"

"Don't think I forgot. You said you've never had prime ribs before, and that... is unforgivable! Now you will taste them, and quake before their flavour!"

"Alright, alright."

The two begun to dig into their food. Ninten obviously loved it, though he felt his Mother's prime ribs were better. As for Ana... she had never really had food like this... it was messy and greasy... but it still tasted really nice! She dug into it as well, albeit with less enthusiasm than Ninten did. 

"So... how is it?"

"I'm not used to food like this... but it is nice. Messy, mind you... which I suppose makes sense for you."

"Hey! What are you saying?! That I can't eat in a clean way?!"

"Maybe."

Ninten started to laugh. "Oh? Then you should speak for yourself — you've got some sauce on your cheek there! Here, let me."

Feeling brave, Ninten leaned across the table. While Ana assumed he'd use a napkin to wipe it off, Ninten had a knack for doing things in unorthodox ways.

So, he reached over with his face, and when his was inches away from hers, he simply licked it off her.

"NINTEN! What are you doing?!" Ana felt herself blush at his actions.

"Hey, don't waste any food, that's what my family have always taught!"

"And you do so like... THAT?!"

"No. That's just for you."

"I see..."

Ninten moved his body back to his chair — but he didn't quite notice the glass of water near him. Yeah, he knocked it over, sending water over Ana.

"Oh God, I'm so clumsy! Sorry!"

"It's alright, Ninten. Besides, I've learned a useful trick for this."

She used PK Fire to warm herself up which also evaporated all the water on her and the table.

"Show off. You got all the good PSI."

"Oh, you have some useful PSI as well."

"Really? You got Fire, Freeze, Beam, Thunder — all the cool PSI! Meanwhile, I'm stuck here with PK 'I'm a coward'!"

"Oh, don't be like that. 4th-D Slip helped us loads of times. Remember that bear?"

"Oh yeah... I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be. None of us saw it coming."

However, their conversation was cut short by someone on the stage.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! We hope you're enjoying the night so far, but it's time for some entertainment! Tonight, we have a big name in Valentine. He's the former Bla Bla Gang boss, you all know him well, it's Teddy!"

"Teddy... he does work here, doesn't he?"

Ninten, on the other hand, was not so calm.

_Gee... it seems like a very big coincidence that Teddy would happen to be working on this very specific day... oh please, please, don't notice us._

From the side of the stage, Teddy appeared, to a great amount of applause and cheering.

"Thank you, thank you! It's great to have so many people out here! So I had this great selection of songs ready for tonight and I was ready to jam my jams. But then, I hear that we had some teenagers coming in tonight, so I had to keep things down. Where are they? Ah, right there!"

_It didn't even take him a minute to see us! Goddamn it... oops, sorry Ana._

"Ooh, do I spy a date? I think I do! Could it be young love? How sweet, let's all give them a round of applause!"

And so the audience did so, leaving two rather embarrassed psychics at the centre of it all.

"So everyone, let's get down with some songs, starting with a classic! Everyone get down on the floor, and dance with a partner if you have one!"

_I hate you, I hate you, I really, REALLY HATE YOU, TEDDY!_

_"I used to think I was so smart... but I couldn't hide the hole in my heart..."_

As Teddy started to sing, many people started to get up — including Ana. 

"So... do you want to dance then?"

"Su... sure."

_"I used to walk the avenue... all by myself with nothin' to do..."_

The two psychics began to dance in time (as much in time as they could anyway) with the song — both of them feeling equally nervous in this one moment.

_"Round every corner, wishing on stars."_

"I've been wondering... how did you learn how to dance? You're very good... you were good on the mountain as well..."

"Well... we have to do dancing at our school. I hated it... but I suppose... it was worth it."

_"And though my dream was overdue... my prayer was answered out of the blue."_

"You know, these lyrics are... awfully specific... do you think Teddy knew we'd be here, Ninten?"

"I have a distinct feeling that he did... and I really wish I could use PK Beam right now."

Ana laughed at that. "You really should try and be a bit calmer sometimes. It's not good to let yourself be completely driven by emotions."

"Hey... it's good to have emotions... they keep us human... or else you become... like Giygue."

Ana took a look into Ninten's eyes before responding.

"You've been thinking about him a lot, haven't you?"

Ninten gave a heavy sigh before continuing. "I really can't hide anything... it's creepy knowing I'm related in a way to him."

"But that doesn't mean you are him. You don't want to destroy humanity, do you?"

"No."

"You're not a incredibly vengeful person, are you?"

"No... although I can't say I'd be all that sad right now if Teddy happened to faint."

"Ninten!"

"Okay, fine, no."

"And you still have people you love, don't you?"

"Of course! I love my mom, my dad, my sisters and..."

"And...?"

... Ninten knew what he should say. He should say 'and you.' It was what Ana was probably expecting. It's what he _should_ have said... to make her happy. But... he couldn't get the words out...

"And... and..."

Ninten's throat seemed to collapse inwards... and he couldn't say a thing.

"Ninten? Are you alright?"

"I... I... I'm sorry ... I... I can't do this!"

With that, Ninten ran out of the Live House.

"Ninten! Where are you going?!"

_"And suddenly, you were sent to me... my destiny, it was meant to be..."_

Ana chased after him, but when she emerged out into the open, Ninten was nowhere to be seen. Where in Valentine could he have gotten to that quickly?

And then Ana realised the answer — he wasn't in Valentine at all. She concentrated for a minute until she saw... cliffs... and a single house.

Ana started to run before a vortex opened up before her.

Unbeknownst to her, Lloyd had seen her, and picked up his walkie talkie.

"Gadget Guy to Romance Samurai, Gadget Guy to Romance Samurai, over."

"This is Romance Samurai, over."

"Yeah, they're both gone."

"Funnily enough, I figured that one out on my own, you know, when they both ran out of here!"

"Yeah, I mean, they're completely gone. As in they're not in Valentine at all. Ana teleported, so I presume Ninten did as well. And since neither of us are psychics, we have no way of tracking them down, over."

"Gadget Guy... you're fired! Over and out."

Ana emerged on Mt Itoi, near to where that kind healer's house was... where she confessed her love for Ninten. She followed the path all the way around, until she found him, looking out beyond the cliffs. Although he couldn't see her, she was sure he was aware of her presence.

"Hey. Guess I should have known you'd find me... psychic powers and all. At night... it really is nice here... peaceful and all."

"The stars are very pretty here. It'd be nice to camp under them, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah... it would be. So...haha... I'm not good with small talk at all. I kinda have to explain what... _that_ was all about, don't I?"

Ana sat down by Ninten. "Not if you don't want to."

"Nah... it's alright... I owe you that much anyway..."

"Are you sure? I understand... things were going a bit too fast... I can see why you may have felt nervous."

"It's not... It's not that. I mean, I _was_ nervous, but... it felt like a... a good kind of nervous, you know?"

"Then... what was it?"

For the first time since she had gotten here, Ninten turned around and looked at her.

"It's... I was telling you about all the people I love... and I wanted to say that I... that I loved you as well. But... I couldn't... I don't know why... I... I should be able too... but I can't. And yeah, I was nervous, bein' in public and all... but even now, I'm sorry... but I still don't think I could say it. But... I still care for you."

"Ninten..."

"And you told me that you loved me... right here, on this mountain! And... I... I can't say it back to you! I... I must be a terrible boyfriend..."

"Ninten... you don't have to say you love me to show you care... and I... I think I see why you thought that... and I need to apologise to you."

Ninten looked surprised at this. "What for?! You didn't ruin this date!"

"Two things. One, I don't think you ruined this date. But secondly... I think this may still be my fault."

"How?!"

"Because I said I love you... and... that was insensitive of me. I was... I was putting a lot of pressure on you, not only to reciprocate my feelings, but to do so with the same intensity that I felt, neither of which were fair to you. And in truth... I don't think I quite understood what that meant. To say you love someone."

"What it means? It's simple, isn't it?"

"Is it though? Love... is complicated, isn't it? It can be so many things... and takes so many forms. Look at... Giygue..."

"He didn't have any love in him!"

"Are you sure?"

Ninten opened his mouth to speak... but he closed it, and started to think, before he spoke again.

"Maria... he loved her... didn't he?"

"Exactly. He's evil... but he still has love... and that's just one kind of love as well. There are so many different kinds of love that... I don't think I really knew what I meant when I said I love you. I... didn't understand it... and because of that, you're now unhappy. So for that, I apologise."

"You don't need to apologise... I mean, I ruined this date... and it wasn't perfect, even before we started..."

"What do you mean?"

"I... I wanted to take you to Magicant... I found this area... it was really secluded... you could see Mary's Castle in the distance... it would have been perfect... but that's all gone now..."

"Ninten... do you know why I agreed to this 'date'?"

At Ninten's silence, she pressed on.

"It's not because I wanted something fancy or some sort of grand gesture of love. I just... I just wanted to see you again."

"I wanted to see the boy who made me feel better when I found out my mother was kidnapped, and I didn't know if I'd ever see her again."

"I wanted to see the boy that believed in silver linings and second chances, the boy who believed in friends and laughter, and the wonders love could do!"

"I just wanted to see the boy that I didn't necessarily _love_ , but the boy that I really, _really_ liked. I just wanted to spend some time with him. And I got to do all of that today."

Ninten finally spoke, although very softly, to the point where Ana almost didn't hear him.

"...all of it?"

"All of it. And I enjoyed every second of it."

"Really? Even after..."

"Yes. Even after this... because, I got to learn more about you. I got to see the impacts of my actions. And from that, I got to understand you better."

"Thank you... you're... wonderful..."

The two of them stared out in silence, looking at the stars beyond the cliffs. It wasn't until a few minutes later that Ninten spoke again.

"You know... I actually intended to take you here... after the Show House."

"Oh?"

"Yeah... we would gaze at the stars, like this, and then... I'd gaze into your eyes, and kiss you."

"It sounds... a bit dramatic, don't you think?"

Ninten started to laugh at that. 

"Yeah... it does. I hope you're alright with this but... do you mind... if I don't kiss you?"

"Of course. I wouldn't want you to do something you don't feel comfortable with... and... we are only thirteen, aren't we? I think... perhaps it may be best if we took things slower. Small steps, you know. We have all our lives ahead of us, after all."

"Yeah... but for what it's worth... I hope you'll always be in it."

"...Me too."

As the two looked over the mountain, they both thought about that future... but only for a moment.

After all, like Ana said, they still had their whole lives in front of them, didn't they? They could afford to take things slowly.   
  


It might just be one small step at a time...  
  


But they'd manage.

**Author's Note:**

> (obligatory rant warning) Guys... I can't believe it... but I actually did it! I wrote a Mother fanfic... that doesn't have a depressing/sad ending! Woo! Not sure if I wrote the characters well, since I'm working off blank slates.
> 
> I see them all as being opposites of their Earthbound counterparts (or other way round, since this game came first) — so Ninten is very outgoing (unlike Ness, who I see as very reserved), Ana being mild mannered, (she doesn't have the same 'fire' as Paula), Lloyd as being a little snarky and has his moments of bravery (as opposed to the mostly insecure Jeff) and Teddy as being really cocky and full of himself (as opposed to the humble Poo). I'll be sticking to these characterisations for any future Mother 1 or Earthbound stories I do.
> 
> For those unaware, the song Teddy sings is 'All That I Needed (Was You)' — the song that plays when Ninten, Ana and Lloyd dance at Valentine. The lyrics are the same as those in the Mother Vocal album — I'd definitely recommend checking it out if you haven't. (link: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgVDlnt6_m4tHRwT913CPcVWSwJFW5hhj)
> 
> Anyway, the main basis of this particular fic, if you couldn't tell, was Ana's declaration of love at Mt Itoi. I have... mixed feelings regarding this.
> 
> You see, that confession, in addition to the large number of Naula fics I've read that have one of the two confessing their love to the other (and I must stress, there is nothing wrong with that at all — in fact, I love those fics), got me thinking about the following question.
> 
> Would a 13 year old really know what love is?
> 
> I mean, I sure as hell didn't when I was 14, writing actual love poems and 3 years later, yeah, still don't know exactly what love is, so I find it hard to believe that they'd be able to understand love at their age.
> 
> So no matter how sweet it is, (and again, it is very sweet), I don't think either of them would truly understand what love is — and yes, I do think the same also applies to Ness and Paula, even though I feel much more strongly about that ship.
> 
> However, I will point this out — we don't know what Paula wanted to say, but 'forgot' — I'm 95% sure it would be something along the lines of 'I love you Ness', but again, never outright confirmed, so (assuming what she wanted to say is something about her feelings for Ness), it could be merely something like, 'I like you Ness' — and yes, there is a distinction to be made between the two, since an attraction/interest is not as strong as love (though I believe in both cases, Nintana and Naula, the time and bond the characters have together over their adventure would mean their feelings would certainly start dipping into love).
> 
> That's not to say I don't believe either of these two pairings will stick together (even if statistics say otherwise) — far from it! I just think it would take some time for any romance to truly blossom.
> 
> But enough debating over the semantics of love — with this fic, that means I have written and completed at least one fanfic for each game in the Mother Series! Yay! I hope you enjoyed this, and to my brother, if you read this, I hope you enjoyed it as well — I've gained a great deal more appreciation for Nintana after writing this!


End file.
